Heel-building- machine



1645,56? Oct. 18, 1927. Q E. E. WINKLEY HEEL BUILDING MACHINE Filed'Feb. l7, 1925 l2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fwy? Wt Q Invent/ow z, ness filziggam I I mw Oct 18, 1927.

v E. E. WINKLEY HEEL BUILDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 1?. 1925 12 Sheets- Sheet 2 WVi/tn/ess ,E. EIWINKLEY HEEL BUILDING MACHINE Oct. 18,1927; 7 1,645,567

Filed Feb. 17. 1923 12 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig. I

Oct. 18, 1927,

E. E. WINKLEY HEEL BUILDING MACHINE Fild Feb. 17.. 1923 12 Sheets-Sheet 6 E. E. WINKLEY HEEL BUILDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 17. 1923 12 Sheets- Sheet 7 TVi/tness iii/Balm I Oct; 118 ;19272;

E. E. WINKLEY HEEL BUILDING MACHINE 12 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Feb. 17. 1923 Ina/e m/wbar akLfi Mines 8 v7? 93M HEEL BUILDING MACHINE 12 sheets-sheet 10 Filed Feb. '17, 192:

2 E. E. WINKLEY HEEL BUILDING MACHINE Fil ed Feb. 17. 1923 12 Sheets-Sheet 11 Inn/e M 1 927 E. E. WINKLEY HEEL BUILDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 17. 1923 12 Sheets-Sheet l2 With/e55 iii/8am Patented Oct. 18, 1927.

. UNIrii'n sr i p L imas'rus E. WINKLEY, or LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS,-ASSIGNOB"10 UNITED SHOE MA.- cHINERY coaronarron, or rArnRsoN, NEW quasar, A CORPORATION or NEW JERSEY.

- -HEELQBUILDiNCt IYIACI-HNE: 1

application filed February 17,1923; ,seriai No. 619,724;

This invention relates to heel building ma- 7 chines and is designed primarily as an improvement and development of the heeluilding machine disclosed in applicants Letters Patent of theUnited States No.

1,507,014, dated September 2, i924, although many' of its features areapplicable to machines'of Widely different characteristics.

,The machine ofthe application referred to 10 is automatic in its operation and comprises assembled heel into one of a pluralityof heel-receiving devices that v are carriedjby and constitute .av part of a'turret thatis ro-Q tated in steps through a plurallty of op erating stations at which variousroperatlon's,

such as alining, pressing and nailing the the heels then being discharged from [the machine. a r

The principal objectof the present invention is to improve and simplify the construction, arrangement and operation of vmachines of the type described in said Patent No.'1,50,7,014, with respect both, to-the sev eral individualfeatures thereof and the gen eral' combinationsof the component mecha nisms, and also to utilize additional features for accomplishing new functions.

In another aspect, an object of the invention is to provide an' automatic machine for building pasted heels and delivering them in able forcompression in a heel, compressor.

"In this regard attention is calltdf-tothe safeguard a heel may lose a lift before the,

nailing operation takes place, or the full 5 complement may not be supplied at the assembling station due to an exhaustion of the" lifts in a magazine or to some supply of other cause It-is portant that the heels-delivered-be of equal making certain a uniform product if the- "A Ifi1iftl 1er object of the invention,therefore, is to lllSUI'e EL uniform product by el1m1- natingall heels that are too low, before they.

are nailed; The lifts from these heels may be'restoredfto themag azinesfor use again, tlnis'the elimination of heels that are too low saves an} expensive cobbling operation ata later stage in the .manufacture of the shoe. The feature of the invention through which this object is attained comprises a heel measuring mechanism, including a device for determining the height of the heel before it is nailed and for subsequently controlling the na fil driving operation, combined with an ejecting device responsive to the action of the measuring mechanism.

More specifically, .a further object of the invention is to correlate and arrange in a component lifts, are successlvely performed,

Vv anism, and a heel pressing mechanism, to

provide for operating the various mechanlsms n step relation as a single vunit, and

to further provide for transferring the heels in process of building from one operating mechanism to another in time rela tion to their operating movements.

To the accomplishment. of theseobjects and such'others as may hereinafter appear, as will readily be. apparent to those skilled in theaartthef invention comprises the fea-' tures and combinations of parts, including improved mechanism' for alining the lifts such condition as to be immediately avail a loosely assembled heel pile, nailing lTiQClinlllSl'll.- ld]l1SllllOl8 to accommodate heels otany'wedge characteristic. and height and.

to definitely locatethe securing nail in the heel. both ,as to position and angularity, and mechanism for transferring the nailed heel in a horizontalgplane to the heel'pressing mechanism and tilting it through 90 to caiise itto rest on its breast for loading into the heel pres hereinafter to be described anklt pmt cularlypointed out in the ap pended claims. I

The var io'us features of the invention will,

best beunderstood from a description of the preferred embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which :1 Figure l is a, plan view ofamachine constructed in'accor'd ance with the present invention and illustrating particularly the ,co-operative re- 7: lation of the heel .-assembling mechanism, the

heel alining and nailing mechanism, and the heel pressing mechanism; Fig. 2 is a view, in front elevation, with respect to the position of the operator, of the heel pressing mechanism; Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of theheel ali'ning and nailing mechanism, illustrating in dotted lines the various positions of the heels as they are advanced through said mechanism, certain parts being removedfor the sake of clearness; Fig. 4 is a View, in front elevation, from the standpoint of the operator, of the alining and nailing mechanism; Fig. 5 is a view, in side elevation looking from right to left in Fig. 1, of the heel alining and nailingmechanism; Fig. 6 is a view, in rear elevation, of said heel alining and nailing mechanism; Fig. 7 is anenlarged detailed view of certain parts of the heel measuring mechanism; Fig. 8 is an enlarged plan view of the lift alining members; Fig. 9 is an: enlarged sectional view of one of the lift alining members, the sectionbeing taken on the line 99 of Fig. 8; Figs. 10 and 11 are plan views, respectively, of the upper and the lower sections of one of the lift alining members, showing particularly the construction thereof and the staggered arrangement of the cushioning springs; Fig. 12 is an enlarged view, in side elevation, of the lift a-lining members and the carriage upon which they are mounted Fig. 13 is an enlarged View, partially in right side elevation and partially in section, of the adjustable heel measuring and nailing head of the heel alining mechanism; Fig. 14 is a sectional plan view, on the line 14-14 of Fig. 13, showing the construction and relationship of certain parts ofv the heel measuring mechanism that are associated with the adjustable measuring and. nailing head; Fig. 15 is a sectional plan View, on the line 15-15 of Fig. 13, showing certain structural details of the heel nailing mechanism; Fig. 16 is an enlarged view, in front elevation and partly in section. of the adjustable heel measuring and nailing head: FlQI. 17 is an e larged view, in side elevation and partially in section, on the line 17-17 of Fig. 4, showing certain of the operating cams and cooperating mechanisms of the heel alining and nailing mechanism; Fig. 18 is a sectional view, on the line 18-18 of Fig. 17 showing the relative arrangement and mode of mounting of certain parts of the nail feed operating means; Fig. 19 is a View, in perspective, of the tiltable heel table adjacent the heelpressingmechanism; Figs. 20 and 21 are views, in end elevation, of said tiltable heel table showing, respectively, the relationship of parts when the table occupies its normal heel-receiving position and after it has been tilted through degrees to turn the heel into avertical plane, to cause it to rest upon its breast preparatory to being loaded into the heel pressing mechanism; Fig. 22

partially in side elevation and partially in section, on the line 2L-24 of Fig. 4 showing certain other operating cams and associated parts of the heel alining and nailing mechanism and illustrating particularly a portion of the mechanism for registering or detecting the presence of low heels and subsequently controlling their ejection; and Fig. 25 is a fragmentary View, in front elevation, of a portion of the low heel-detecting mechanism shown in Fig. 24.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, and referring first particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, the heel building machine constituting the present invention comprises, in general, a heel assembling mechanism designated, in. general, by the reference character 30, a heel alining and nailing mechanism designated generally by the reference character 32, and a heel pressing mechanism designated generally by the reference character 34. These main component mechanisms of the machine as a whole, are conveniently disposed in adjacent, side-byside relation in such manner that the loosely assembled heels produced by the assembling mechanism 30 may be automatically and succssively delivered to the alining and nailing mechanism 32 and, suhsequently, automatically transferred and delivered to the heel pressing mechanism 34. The component mechanisms referred to are so interconnected and correlated in construction and operation is shifted from one pulley to the other by means of a belt shifter 4-9. in a well-known manner, and the fast pulley 38 is mechanically associated by suitable gearing (not shown) with a jack shaft 41 extending the length of the assembling mechanism 30 and extending beyond it to carry a plurality of sprockets 46 and 48 that are connected, by means of drive ch ins 50 and 52, respecliltl although generally similar construction ti'vely, to the mainpower shafts 5 l and 56 ofthe heel pressing mechanism 34 and heel alining and nailing mechanism 32. v

The heel assembling mechanism 30,

and operation to the assembling mechanism disclosed in said Patent No. 1,507,014 hereinbefore referred to, is more nearly similar to the assembling mechanism set forth and claimed in applicants hetters Patent of the United States No. 1,502,082, dated July 22, 19241 In the machine of said Patent No. 1,502,082, the lifts are delivered in theform of a loosely assembled heel-pile upon an intermittently operated receiving conveyer which is adapted to present a dry base lift atthe station to which the pasted lifts are delivered, and which is'constructed and arranged to be depressed progressively as the pasted lifts are progressively superposed upon the dry base lift. As distinguished from this construction, in the machine of said Patent No. 1,507.014, the lifts from which the loosely assembled heels are pro duc'ed are delivered successively dii ctly into one ofa plurality of receiving devices car-' ried by a rotatable turret. in view of the complete disclosure, in the two prior patents referred to, of the structural details and mode of operation of the lift assembling mechanism, and inasmuch astheassembling mechanism, in the main, pertains to the present invention only indirectly except in so far as it performs a necessaryfunction in the operation of the machine as a whole, only a brief general description of this mechanism will be given. e r

In general, the lift assembling mechanism 30 comprises a plurality of lift magazines 60 for holding stacks of either wedge or even lifts. The automatic assembly of the lifts into aheel is effected by suitable means for concurrently producing a. single lift from the bottom of each of the magazines and con currently advancing the lifts so produced n a forward direction and depositing them in a row upon a continuously traveling'belt or conveyor 62. The traveling belt 62 serves to rapidly feed the lifts in serial relation to a set of continuously driven feed wheels (not shown but found in said prior patents) which function to advance the lifts over a paste roll (not shown but also in said prior patents), by means of which the lower surfaces of all of the lifts are coated with a quick drying paste. The feed wheels, to which reference has been made, also functionto deliver the pasted lifts in rapid succession and in superposed relation upon a dry base lift, which previously has been pro ducedfronr a base'lift magazine 64 and suitably presented in position to receive the pasted lifts by means of a transverse liftreceiving;conveyer similar to that disclosed nsaid Patent No. 1,502,082. The

conveyor 66 is adapted to be progressively lowered'in position as the lifts are successively piled one upon the other. The receiving 'conveyer 66 of the present invention, although similar in structure and mode of operation to that disclosed in Patent No. 1,502,082, differs somewhat in details of construction, chief among which is the fact that the cenveyer itselflies in a central groove 08 (F 8) formed in an elongated plate 70, leaving the side port-ions '72 thereof slightly elevated so as to be flush with theupper surface of the conveyor 66, whereby they assist in supporting the heels in definite position during their subsequent advancement by the conveyer.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 3 and S, the conveyor structure 06 is provided, at receiving station where the lifts are loosely assembled thereon, ith an adjustable breast plate or 74 against which the breasts of the lifts engage during the delivering operation. This breast plate 74,

in the pr cut machine, is adjustably mounted upon a 76, 00111131151112, a thin strlp .neet material that lies in a shallow recess in the upper surface of one of the side porions 72 of the grooved plate 70, and which s pivoted upon a pin 78. The gate 76 and oreast plate 74 are normally held in the position shown in the figures referred to by means of a spring 80. With this construction, provision is made for permitting the breast plate 74: to yield outwardly in the event that the lifts become displacedwand jll'l'HHGCl during the delivery operation.

After a heel is loosely assembled upon the conveyer and against the breast plate 7 1, the conveyer is lowered to a definite position in order to insure a clearance between the uppermost lift of the heel and the feed wheel disposed above it. This operation is effected by means and in the manner of the cor *esponding operation fully set forth in said Patent No. 1,502,082 and, therefore, no further, description thereof is necessary herein, it being sufficient: to understand that the heel and conveyor are lowered to a predetermined position subsequent to the delivery of the lifts. Having lowered the heel and conveyor, the conveyor is advanced through a single step by means of a suitable conveyor feeding mechanism (not shown but found in said prior Patent No. 1,502,082). As the heel is thus advanced, it is delivered to the alining and nailing mechanism 32, which then takes control of the loosely asseuibled heel and operates upon it in the manner to be hereinafter set forth.

Having described briefly the construction and operation of the'lift assembling mechanism 30, particular reference may be had to Figs. 3, at, 5 and 6, which bestdisclose the 'alining and pressing mechanism 32. This mechanism, 111 itself, embodies many of thev main features of the present invention, although its utilization in correlation with the assembling mechanism 30 and the heel press ing mechanism constitutes an important feature of the present invention. The heel alining and nailing mechanism32 is disposed adjacent the delivery end of the assemblingmechanism 30 and is adapted to receive the loosely asseml'iled heels transferred by the conveyor 66 and to subsequently effect their alinement, subject them to pressure and nail together the component lifts there of. This a chanism also embodies mechanism to measure the height of the heels and if a heel. is too low, to prevent the nailing operation and. subsequently to effect the ejection or di charge of the low heel. The remaining heels of proper height are successively and automatically delivered to the heel pressing mechanism 34 in which they are held under pressure for a period Sullicient for the paste to set.

The heel alining and nailing 32 comprises, in general, a main frame upon which the various mechanisn s are mounted; a heel elevator 86 for receiving the heel from the conveyor 66 and raising it into a position to be further advanced through the machine; a vibratory pusher 88 for delivering a series of impact blows to the breast end of the loosely assembled heel and concurrently advancing it through its predetermined path of movement; a plurality of relatively movable elongated lift alining members 90 between which the heel is advanced by the vibratory pusher 88 and by means of which a wiping action in conjunction w'th the vibratory action of the pusher, contrilmtes to aid the final aline ment of the component lifts; a movable heel support or pressure member 94 upon which the heel is re *eived after passing between the alining members 90 and by means of which the heel is subsequently subjected to pressure during the nailing operation; an adjustable back gage 96 against which the rear end of the heel is positioned by the pusher 88 and which serves in conjunction therewith to maintain the lifts in alinement and delinitcly position them for the nail driving operatioi'i after the heel has been raised into position to be nailed; a measuring device, including the movable heel support or pressure member and also a piv otally mounted measuring finger 98 (Fig. 5) through the agency of which the height of the heel is determined: a nailing mechanism compri: ng a nail driver 100 (Fig. 13). a reciprocating nail block 102 and a nail supply and feeding mechanism, only the raceway 104 (F 5) of which is shown; an adjustable head 106 upon which the measuring and nailing mechanisms are mounted, which is provided with a lower mechanism supporting component support or pressure surface or member 108 that definitely limits the movement of the pivoted linger 98 during the raising movement of the movable pressure member 94 to subject the heel to pressure during the nailing operation and which, moreover, is mounted for vertical, horizontal and angular adjustment so that the machine may be adapted to operate upon heels of different degrees of wedge or taper, of different heights, and of different styles, requiring different predetermined locations and inclinations or angularities of the securing nail; a low-heel registering device including an adjustable wedge member 112 (Figs. 3 and 24) and a plurality of slidable pins 114 set by said wedge member for temporarily retaining the measurements of low heels for the purpose of subsequently controlling the ejection thereof; a feeding device, in the form of a pusher 116, for laterally removing the heels after they are nailed and advancing them along their prescribed path of movements; a conveyor 118 adapted to receive the heels thus advanced and to transfer them in a series of steps to the heel pressing mechanism 34; and an ejector 120 for automatically discharging the low heels from the conveyer in accordance with the setting of the low-heel registering pins 114.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the supporting frame of the alining and nailing mechanism 32 comprises a pair of side pedestals 126 and 128 which are connected at the front and rear by a plurality of cross supports 130 and 132 and upon which is mounted a main supporting bed or table 134 which is cored out at 136 (Fig. 5) to provide a recess to receive the outer end of the conveyer 66 when it occupies its lowered position as in Fig. 4. A suitable bracket 138 is bolted to the rear end of the bed plate 134 to carry the vibrating pusher 88 and at the front end of the bed plate a bracket 140 is secured upon which is mounted the adjustable back gage 96. Intermediate these two brackets is located a plurality of upwardly projecting bosses 142 and 143 upon which is slidably mounted a carriage 144 that supports the elongated alining members 90. The heel support or elevator 86 is slidably mounted in a boss 146 projecting upwardly from the cored out portion 136 of the bed plate 134 and the movable heel support or pressure member 94 is similarly slidably mounted in the boss 142.

As already stated, the measuring mechanism including the measuring finger 98, and also the nailing mechanism including the nail driver 100 and nail block 102, are mounted upon the adjustable head 106. This head is suspended, with provision for vertical, horizontal and angular adjustment, from an angular frame support 150, one side of which is rigidly mounted upona plurality of .vertically extending rods 152 and 154 thatare fixed to the bed plate 134. The

other sideof tl'e frame. support 150 is car- 'riedby an angular bracket 156, one arm of which is bolted to the frame support and theother arm of which is bolted to the adjacent side pedestal 1 60 of the lift assembling mechanism 80, asshown in outline in dot and dash lines in Figs, 3, 4 and 6.

Power is supplied to the main drive shaft ,56 (Figs. 1 and 5') of the alining and nail- .ing mechanism 82from ,the jack shaft 44 of the assemblingmechanism 30 throughthe agency of the driving chain 52 and the intermediary of a safety clutch or coupling- .164 of any well-known type which has no directbearing upon the present invention ..andwill not, therefore, be described; The

drive. shaft 56 carries at the end opposite the coupling 164 a mitre gear 166 which mesheswith a co-operating gear 168 that is a fixed. to amaimcam shaft 170. The cam shaft 170m suitably journaled in the side pedestals126 and 128Iand is provided with a plurality of operatingcams 172, 174,176,

a 1'78, 180, 182,184, isea d 188, illustrated 1.138513 in Figs. 4,6, 17,22 and 24. These various cams serve in conjunction with other elements, including a pluralityof bell cranks mounted upon a cra nk shaft 190, to eifect the anism and the heelpressing mechanism -memhers 90.

After a loosely assembled heel hasbeen delivered. upon the-receiving conveyer 66,

. and the latter has been lowered into the position indicateril in Figs. 4 and 6,"the next stepping movement of the conveyer will advancethe heel, just assembled-,to a position upon thelieel support or elevator 86 which at this time lies in the horizontal plane of the lowered conveyer, so that the heel may be. easily transferred thereto. The loosely assembled heel having been delivered to the heel elevator 86, the elevator then rises to locate the heelintlie plane of operation of the vibrating pusher 88 and the alining The convey-er 66 may then rise to its normal position, in the manner set .forth in said priorPatent No. 1,502,082, in

readiness to receive the component lifts of another heel.

The elevation of the heel onthe elevator I 86 i-seil'ected through the agency of the cam 182 (Fig. 22) which is 'co-operatively en- .ga;d by a roll 194 carried at the end of one of the arms of a le\ ei. 196 pivotally mounted at 198. on the, frame and having. another arm, the end of which is provided with a slot 200t-oreceive a roll 202 that is fixed to or impulses between the co-operating alining members 90. In accordance with an important feature of the, present invention, the pusher 88 has a combined and concurrent advancing and vibratory motion so that while actuating the heel through its prescribed path of movement, it also delivers a series otimpactblows or impulses to the breast end of thev heel for the purposeof alining its component lifts. The pusherj88.

is adjustably supported upon a head 210 (Figs. 3and 5) in such manner that it may bepositioned at any desired angle to accommodate varying inclinations of the breast surfaces of different heels as they rest on.

theirhheel seatends: For this purpose, the 8' lower end ofthe pusher 88 is pivoted at 212 between suitable lugseon :the head 210 and the upper end of the pusher is connected by means of a link 214 to ablock 216that is slidably mounted in aninclined slot 218 in the'head 210. This block may be raised and lowered in the slot 218 by means of an adjusting screw 220, thereby adjusting the angularity vofthe pusher 88 as desired.

During the subsequent. operation of the machine, the heehafter being alined, is raised in position while maintaining full engagement with the pusher 88. It is therefore necessary to make provision for permitting the pusher to be raised while still maintaining its adjusted angular relation. This-is provided for by a parallel motion linkage comprising a pair of links 224 that are pivotally connected to the head 210 and also to a slide 226 that is carried in suitable ways 228 in the supporting bracket 138. The lowered position of the pusher 88 is determined by a stop 230 which engages the slide 226, while an unrestricted upward movement of the pusher is allowed by the parallel motion linkage'upon which it is mounted. The actuation of the pusher 88 is effected by suitable mechanism which cooperates with the slide 226 and which comprises an actuating lever 234 (Figs. 5 and 20), the upper end of which. isslotted-to receive a block 236 pinned to lugs projecting downwardly from the slide 226. 'The actuating lever 234 is pivotally mounted upon a shaft 235 and its lower extension is acted upon by a spring 237 tending normally to swing the lever to withdraw the pusher to its extreme rear position. i

. Referring more particularly to Fig. 17,

arm 250 having an impact surface against which hammer blows are intermittently directed by means of a projecting lug or hammer member 252 forming a part of a pawl 254 that is also pivotally mounted on the pin 244 and which has a head 256 which is held by means of a spring 258 in engagement with the serrated edge of the notched cam 176. The end of the opposite arm 260 of the T-shaped member 248 is connected by means of a link 262 with the free extremity of the long arm of a bell crank 264 that is pivotally mounted upon the crank shaft 190 and which is provided with a short arm carrying a cam roll 266 having a traveling engagement with the periphery of the cam 178.

The operation of the advancing pusher 88 is as follows: As the cams rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 17, the short arm of the bell crank 264. is swung in a counter-clockwise direction to correspondingly rotate the T-shaped lever 248 and also the pawl 254 carrying the hammer lug 252. It is therefore clear that the link 238, connecting the actuating .lever 234 with the impact member 242. is pulled. in a direction toward the left in Fig. 17, thereby causing the lever 234 to advance the feed slide 226, and therefore the pusher 88, into engagement with the heel upon the heel elevator 86. As this advancing movement is continued, the heel also is advanced along its path of movement between the alining members 90. r

As already explained, the pusher 88 is given a vibratory movement during its advance, and this is accomplished by means of the hammer pawl 254 operating in conjunction with the notched cam 176. The spring 258, normally maintaining the head 256 of the hammer pawl 254 in engagement with the serrated edge of the cam 176, causes said head 256, as it is advancedin a counterclockwise'direction in opposition to the clockwise movement of the notched cam 176, to he suddenly and forcibly drawn into the successive peripheral notches. Each time this action takes place, the hammer lug 252 carried by the pawl 254 delivers an impact blow to the engaging surface of the arm 250 of the impact member 242. The impact member, therefore. is given a series of rapid and limited oscillatory movements which are transmitted through the link 238 to the actuating lever 234 and thence to the slide 226 l and pusher 88. Thus, as the pusher is ad 'vanced in engagement with the heel, it is periodically vibrated and caused to deliver a series of blows upon the breast surface of the heel as it is actuated between the alining members 90. This vibratory action of the pusheris especially effective in producing an accurate and positive alinement of the heel.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the construction and operation of the elongated alining members 90 and their cooperative action with the vibratory pusher already described. The utilization of the elongated alining members acting upon a heel that is moved relatively between them has been found to be particularly effective in alining the component lifts by reason of the continued wiping engagement of the alining members as the heel is advanced with respect thereto. Moreover, it has been found that by dividing the alining members into aplurality of layers or secpressech-a more accurate and effective alinement of the lifts is accomplished by reason of the fact that this construction insures that each of the component lifts shall be acted upon individually and properly positioned with relation to the others.

.ltlach alining member 90 (Fig. 8), therefore, comprises a plurality of superposed sections or plates 270, which, in order to accommodate the lateral pitch of a heel, preferably range in width from a wide top plate, as shown in Fig. 10, to a relatively narrow bottom plate, as shown in Fig. 11. The relative widths of the plates depend upon the contour or style of the heel to be operated upon, and in order to care for varying styles and forms of heels it is desirable to construt the machine so that thc plates may be removed and interchanged with other sets of alining plates.

Each of these sectional alining members 90 is mounted for limited transverse movement in a bracket 272 (Fig. 9) which is provided with two sets of laterally extending care 274, between each of which the plu rality of sections or plates 270 are disposed and positioned by means of vertical pins 276 that project loosely through openings 278 and 280 in the respective ends of the several plates. The openings referred to are sufficiently large to permit of a limited trans verse movement of the individual plates 270, whereby any particular set of plates may be utilized successfully to aline heels of a number of different sizes which are of the same general style or form. Each of the plates 270 is individually spring pressed at its respective ends by means of a plurality of coiled springs 282 that are disposed in staggered relation to permit of individual springs being used with each of the plates, even though the plates be extremely thin.

In order to suitably position the coiled springs 282,-each of theplates-270 is provided at each end with projecting members "284 which are adapted to be'inserted within the springs for holding one end thereof. The opposite ends of the springs are seated in a staggered row of openings 286 that are suitably bored into the upright portion of the bracket 272. 1

The pair of elongated and sectional alining members 90 may be bodily relatively adjusted towards and from each other. For this purpose, the farther alining member 90,

as viewed in Fig. 8 is stationarily mounted,

able carriage 144. The position of the slide. 292and, therefore, of one of the alining members 90 is determined by an adjustable set screw 300 (Fig. 8) which serves as a stop therefor, and said slide is suitably fixed in position to; prevent movement thereof. The other slide 294-, upon which the opposite alining member 90 is mounted, is adapted for bodily sliding movement in the guide way'and its inward'movement with respect to its co -operating alining member is limited by engagement of a pin 302, carried by the slide, with the end of a rod 304 constituting an extension of an adjusting screw 306 located adjacentthe adjusting screw 300 for the opposite slide. This movable alining member 90 is normally maintained in its extreme inner position, with the pin 302 in engagement with the rod 304, by means of a coiled spring 308 extending beneath the supporting member 298 and attached at one end to a depending end plate 310 and at the other end to a pin 312 projecting downwardly from said slide 294-. By suitable adjust- "ments of the adjusting screws 300'and 306 the initial positions of the co-operating alining members 90 may be accurately determined in accordance with the size of the heels to be operated upon. As-the heel is advancedby the vibratingpusher '88 betweenv the co-operating elongated alining members 90, one of said members is capable of bodily outward movement, while the spring-pressed sections or plates 270 of the respective members are capable of independent individual yielding movements to IHSUTO aneffective wipingengagement upon all of the lifts during the transit of the heel,

whereby the desired. end is accomplished.

During the passage of the heel between the alining members 90 it is supported by the upper faces of the transverse ways 296 and of the slides 292 and 29%. To properly support the heel in its horizontal plane immediately after leaving. the ele'mtor 86, a finger'3l4t- (Figs. 8 and 12) rises from the rear of the carriage 144C to a position between the elevator 86 and the adjacent trans verse way 296.

Although the sections or plates 270 of the respective alining members are adapted for individual yielding movements, the movements of one end of one set ofplatcs are stricted by means of a teinplet 316 (Fig. 9) which is detaohably secured by screws 318 to a. portion of the bracket 272 in such position as 'tobe positively engaged by said plates if pressed outwardly a sufficient distance. The width and form of this templet 316 is chosen with respect to the style and configuration of the heels to be alined and, as willbe understood, definitely determines the form or curvature of the lateral slope of theheel by serving as a positive abutment against which the individual plates of the {dining member are caused to engage. As

illustrated in Fig 8 this templet is utilized in connection with the: stationary aiming member. The movable alining member, by

reason of its actuating spring 308, therefore functions to crowd the component lifts of a heel against the stationary alining member until the further ends of its component plates are forced outwardly against the templet, thus definitely insuring the proper aliiiement and conformation of the heel. By suitably choosing the width and form o i. thetemplet 316, a single set of alining plates orsections 2'50 may be utilized for a considerable range of sizes of heels of any definite shape or style, and moreover, may be also adapted for use in connection with a limited range of heels differing slightly in style or form.

After the wiping alinement of the heel through the co-operative action of the aiming members 90 and the vibrating pusher 88, the heel is delivered upon the movable heel support or pressure member 94 which is disposed immediately at the end of the co-operating alining members and which is suitably positioned to receive the alined heel as it emerges therefrom. During the final advancement of the heel, its curved and sloped rear end is brought into full engagement with the adjustable back gage 96, the inclination of which has been previously adjusted to correspond to the ultimate slope or pitch of the heel, This back gage 96 (Figs. 3 and 5) is pivoted at its lower end'to a head 324 and the upper end thereof is connected by a link 326, having an adjustable pin-and-slot connection 328, with the head i 324. The head 324, like the corresponding head 210 of the pusher 88, is mounted upon a parallel mot-ion linkage to permit it to be raised and lowered without altering its inclination or angularity. For this purpose, the head is carried by a plurality of links 330, the ends of which are pivoted to the head and also to an upright member of a slide 332 which is suitably positioned in ways 33 i associated with the supporting bracket 140. The slide 332 and, therefore, the back gage 96 may be adjusted in accordance with the size and style of heel to be operated upon, by means of an adjusting screw 336 carried by the bracket 140 and operating against a lug 338 depending from said slide. The back gage 96 is normally held upwardly to its limit of movement in engagement with the pressure surface 108 of the adjustable head 106 by means of a spring 34:0, the respective ends of which are secured to the lower link 330 and to the upright member of the slide 332.

For any given size or style of heel to be operated upon, it is preferable that the back gage 96 be longitudinally adjusted in posit-ion so as to be engaged by the heel while the opposite breast corners thereof are still retained in engagement with the rear eX- tremities of the co-opera'ting alining members 90, as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 8. Thus, the alinement of the heel is maintained and the heel held under control during the subsequent operations thereon which involve the raising of the heel support 94. in two steps or stages, first to measure the height of the heel, and second to subject it to pressure during the nailing operation.

In order to permit the heel support as and the heel disposed thereon to be raised into position, the stem 3% thereof (Figs. 12 and 22) is slidably mounted through a rectangular extension block that rests upon the boss M2 of the bed plate 134: through which the stem also projects. The lower end of the stem 34th carries a roll 350 which is embraced within the bifurcated end of a lever 352 pivotally mounted upon a shaft 354 carried by the bed plate 134. The other end of the lever carries a cam roll 356 (Fig. 22) cooperating with the cam 180 on the main cam shaft 170. A coiled. spring 358 is connected between a portion of the frame and the lever 352 for the purpose of maintaining the cam roll 356 in engagen'icnt with its co-operating cam 180.

As the cam 180 is rotated in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 22, and from the position indicated, the spring 358 functions almost immediately to rotate the lever 352 to keep the cam roll 356 .in engagement with the drop 360 in the periphery of the cam. This action results in raising the heel support 91- and heel disposed thereon through a definite distance determined and limited by the extent of the drop 360 in the cam. The support 94 and heel, therefore, are raised through a step which constitutes an initial stage in the operation of measuring the height of the heel and then subjecting it to pressure.

Assuming ten'iporarily that the measuring of the heel has taken place, the cam roll 356 is next brought into clearance with respect to its cam by a second drop 362 thereof. At this time suitable means, to be hereinafter described, is brought into operation to raise the heel support 9 1 and heel through its second step or stage. This movement predetermined in amount whereby to'subject the measured heel to a definite degree of pres sure agaii'ist the measuring plate 98 now in contact with the pressure surface 108.

Remembering that as the heel is thus raised in steps to measure its height and then to subject it to pressure, and that the rear extremities of the alining members 90 still engage and hold the breast corners of the heel, provision must be made for so supporting the frame 298 upon which the alining members 90 are mounted, that it and the alining members may be raised vertically with the support 941 and the heel thereon. Accordingly the supporting frame 298 is provided with a pair of downwardlyprojccting pins 368 (Fig. 12) that are adapted to slide vertically through a pair of apertured bosses 370 constituting integral parts of the carriage 1 1 1. The actual elevation of the alining members 90 and supporting frame 298 is effected by reason of the slight Jon overlapping of the rear extremities of the alining members with respect to the heel support 94. Therefore, as the heel support 9 is raised into measuring position and then to pressure-applying position, the alining members )0 and supporting frame 298 are correspondingly raised, as permitted by the vertical sliding movement of the pins 368.

During these raising movements, the pusher 88 is also maintained in engagement with the breast end of the heel so that the heel is gripped yieldingly between the pusher and the back gage 96. As already stated, the back gage is maintained in its uppermost position by the spring 340. Therefore, as the heel support 94 and heel are raised in steps to measure and to sub-- ject the heel to pressure, the heel must necessarily be carried backwardly in the direction of the pusher 88 by reason of the inclination of the back gage. This action would tend to effect a longitudinal and frictional sliding movement between the heel and the engagilig rear extremities of the alining members if no provision were made for the alining members to slide backwardly as the heel is correspondingly moved. Furlhern'iore, after having raised the heel to pressure'applying position, it is desirable to retract the alining members 90 from their 

